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Show altLake Tribune ARTS Sunday,April 27, 1997 Grimm for Grown-Ups: PTC @ Happily Ever After Pioneer Theatre Company's Ventures ‘Into the Woods’ day at 7:30 p.m. at Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 1340 E. 300 South, Salt LakeCity. Performances continue Mondays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at8 p.m., and Satur- rior to Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the ‘TRIBUNE James Lapine, sitting in a Park City cafe, wonderedaloud if anyone is writing plays for Broadway. Opera,” which opened during the same season. The show received 10 Tony nominations and was named Best Musical of days at 2 and 8 p.m., through May 1988 by the NewYork DramaCritics’ Cir- 17. Tickets, available at the PMT box office, are $13 to $34. The PTCstaff advises patrons attend- cle and the Drama Desk. He recalls a time when producers A national tour, starring Cleo Laine, proved that people in the heartland would take a chance on schlock, but at least it was written schlock. He laments would embrace the sophisticated under- the fact that audiences and producersto- pinnings of a Sondheim musical. less you have a “star” to deliver your lines, forgetit. “T have incredible respect for Andrew star Bernadette Peters as the Witch. day do not respect the written word. UnLloyd Webber, but he’s formulaic,” La- pine said. “He knowsa great deal about musi¢e but doesn’t push himself. There are a lot of people who know howto compose music, but not the first thing about “Into the Woods” received an even wider audience whenit appeared on PBS’ The musical has been produced freCity’s Pioneer Theatre Company. That will change Wednesday when New York and joined with director/playwright Lapine in 1984 for “Sunday in the Park own work, hetends to ignore the writer part. The musical, based on thelife of artist ing work.” One of the rewarding aspects of collaborating with Sondheim, he said, is that neither tries to duplicate previous successes. One must “Move On,” as Seurat’s mistress, Dot, says in “Sunday in the Park,” That musical, their first project, wascritically acclaimed, but there have been no attempts at sequels. “Into the Woods” and “Passion” are vastly different musicals, not written to simply woo the easy-listening crowd. Stephen Sondheim — “Steve” to Lapine — knows how to do both After an 11-year collaboration with Broadway master Harold Prince, compo- With George.” George Seurat, wasan artistic success, re- ceiving numerous awards, including the Sondheim and Lapine were back again on Broadway in 1987, tackling, with a satirical pen, the fertile soil of Jack and the Beanstalk and other Brothers Grimm folk. “Into the Woods,” despite a lukewarm review from Frank Rich of The New York Times, enchanted most critics and broughtbrisk sales to the box office, due After “Sunday,” Lapine wanted to in no small measure to the marketing write a farce and hoped to call it “Fe Fi out to schools, and commercials, urging Fo Fum.” Sondheim wanted to write a fairy-tale “quest musical.” The menliked the simplistic nature of morning television. The book by Lapine andscore by Sond- heim werehailed by Tonyvoters as supe- fairy tales — stories wherecharacters are easy to figure out: Witchesare bad. Prin- cesses are good. Giants are dumb. they would not interrupt the action. The ‘eusi¢ functions much asit does in an opera, Some songs contain vital plot information, others reveal the subconscious thinking of the characters. The story begins and ends with the sameline: “Once upon a time....” Inbe- e tween, every character — Jack, the baker, his mother, Rapunzel, the Wolf, Milky White, Snow White, all of them — utters » ~ ~ they come true. They arenotfree.” In thefirst act, the wishes come true Ryan Galbraith/TheSalt Lake Tribune The Woodsare also “woulds,” as Little Red Riding Hood (Meghan Stange) and the Wolf (Robert Jensen)will discover in PTC's production. But Lapinedecided that to write anoth- er fairy tale when there were already mil- lions around would befolly. He decided instead to ask what might happenif sey- eral fairy-tale characters, separated for viewed the subject from much different childhood memories. Sondheim never read such stories. He was an avid movie watcher, introducedto fantasy by the animated effects and attitudes of Disney and years by authors, suddenly got together “The Wizard of Oz.” the beanstalk and found glass slipper? the printed page as a small boy. The lavish bookillustrations were “‘eeri pleasant,” he told biographer Craig in the same book. What if Red Riding Hood metCinderella or Jack came down Lapine and Sondheim had a similar frameof reference for “‘Sunday"’ — both of them knew something about creative art. But when it came to fairy tales, they Lapine encountered Grimm stories on dan, “so, of course, | was immediately attracted to them.” Sondheim wasinterested in integrating magically. In the second act, it takes human effort to make a wish happen. Throughout the musical, Sondheim and Lapine are exploring oneoflife’s eternal questions: To what extent does a desired end justify a less than desirable means? Do people really live happily ever after? And if so, what happens after happily everafter? PTC's production, featuring six New York guest actors making their Utah debuts, will leave the answers to its audiences during the next three weeks. Musieal direction is by James Prigmore with Cinderella’s ball gown,the wolf's fur coat and Red Riding Hood's hood only part of | the designs created by costumer David Kay Mickelsen. KD CRAFT REMEMBER MOM AT KD FISH POND PAPER Ka NOVELTIES @ Combs 9X12 50-SHEET ® Kazoo: ° igs @ Yoyos PKG. CONSTRUCTION onr POS SALE ENDS 5/10/97 ®@ Harmonica @ Much More EXTRA 10% OFF WHOLESALE PRICES 00%: OFF ANY REGULAR PRICED SINGLE ITEM IN THE STORE included. Coupon expires week. Not pice: - Displays Dlopiaye not OFF ANY REGULAR PRICED % SINGLE ITEM IN THE Choee Limitoncouponshes pt customer,per west. Not ‘merchandise which ing Secapie fase Biaplaysnotte included. Coupon expires 0%: OFF ANY REGULAR PRICED SINGLE ITEM IN THE STORE sheet ps customer,pi Limit any oneother coupon with eisee ecpromtems temsor included. 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Study guides went children to get their parents to walk with them “Into the Woods,” ran on Saturday- the “Woods” songsinto the story so that | quently in Utah but never by Salt Lake ser/lyricist Sondheimswitched directors writingit.” car pool and arrive early. A rock concert by U2 will be presented in Rice Stadium that evening. “American Playhouse,” with Broadway guest director Charles Karchmerunveils his interpretation on Lees Main Stage at Pioneer Memorial Theatre. Lapine, who directed “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Into the Woods” and his more recent Sondheimcollaboration, “Passion,” said whenhedirects his |)" ing the May 3 performances to TERRE BY NANCY MELICH Pulitzer Prize. “Into the Woods” opens Wednes- |